Behind Heart Shaped Sunglasses

Crossing across the southern peninsula and getting some glimpses of the Pacific ocean again. Highway 19 is a fairly new highway making access to Todos Santos easier. I have been looking forward to exploring this area. Todos Santos has been obviously touched by tourism and expats. However there is a laid back surfer vibe mixed with Mexican culture.

Just for a quick look we drove through the main tourist street in Todos Santos. We continued to Playa Los Cerritos to find a place to camp for a few nights. While Todos Santos is a major hub it’s not directly on the water and Cerritos Beach is a 10 minute drive from Todos Santos. $500 pesos/night gets us a parking lot with flush toilets and cold showers, unlimited potable water and a 5 minute walk to the beach.

We were fortunate enough to catch a sea turtle release one evening just North of Todos Santos.

Since we were sick we have been turned off of fish and seafood. We found the most delicious bbq chicken, there are shacks and more established stores all over the peninsula. The chicken is amazing and cheap!

We are entering into our 3rd month on the road. Our faces and shoulders are brown from the Mexican sun, our hair and lips are wind blown and salty. The rhythm and routines of living outdoors are weaving tight into our days.

(select image to highlight)

As slow days become more regular it gives us time to notice the different varieties of butterflies flittering from one desert flower to another, the rare lizard scurrying under rocks, the gratitude and beauty appreciated in a morning sunrise. Or how the sunsets cast the most dramatic shadows on the background mountains. Appreciating the slow moments of seeing Olive grow and expand and learn new things all the time. While moments of restlessness come and go with this slow pace, it is often dissolved by a remembrance of where we are.

We met up again with our friends Rocky and Steph for a few days, along with some other new friends and camped along the east cape. The east cape is along the Sea of Cortez just North of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. It includes the well known Cabo Pulmo, a nature reserve popular for scuba diving and snorkeling. There are many opportunities to wild camp along the sandy, washboard road.

“Brad” the burro was very interested in our camp, walking right under our sun shade and onto our camp mat.

Moving along the East Cape we drove the easier and faster highway to the North end of the East Cape. Los Frailles is a free wild camping beach shared with local fisherman. This beach was swimmable, not all are ideal swimming conditions for a 3 year old. So we enjoyed 4 days here.

We were lucky to catch some locals coming in from a day of fishing. $150 pesos for a kilogram of Trigger fish. Super meaty and delicious.

We got out on our kayak again to see humpback whales in the distance. One morning we were out on the water when a school of fish seemed to fly out of the water and past us. So close that I ducked feeling that one was going to jump in the boat. I think they were trying to out run a mahi tuna as it was leaping out of the water after this school….pretty neat!

I’m sure I’ve said before, we only have enough provisions for 4 days and then we need to move on. We spend the next week or so at Playa Miramar and La Ribera and Los Barilles.

One night after Olive was in bed Paul and I sat outside the camper ocean side and watched the full moon wake for the evening. Out of the darkness we heard whales spouting in the distance. A very unique experience hearing them in the night but not seeing them.

All along we are wild camping and restocking. We stayed at a campground in Los Barilles to clean up. Our wild camp shower situation is not ideal but when you are several days in with no shower, a fertilizer pump sprayer set out in the sun to heat works pretty well. (Note the black pop tent beside the camper, 2 pictu) Los Barilles is known to be windy and as such is a hub for wind and kite surfing.

We have been meeting all kinds of people with different experiences of Baja and tips. We are heading to Sierra La Laguna in the middle of the bottom of the peninsula. Time to get off the sand and away from the wind for a few days and into the mountains at Rancho San Dionisio.